Friday, July 31, 2009

I know it's not even August yet, but do you realize that it is only 147 days until Christmas, or 21 weeks? That's not long when you think about it, so it's now time to start and think about it.

I put $20 a week away, every week for Christmas, so my pot is looking quite healthy. For those of you who have not started, why not start and put a little money aside every week. $10 a week will give you $200 saved, by the week before Christmas. If you could put it up to $20 a week, that would be $400, think what you can buy with that $400?

Since moving I haven't really been shopping, so haven't been picking bits and bobs up. We are cutting back drastically this year, the kids are no longer kids, and they have as much money as we have. Infact dd and her boyfriend have already told me what they want a large suitcase each. I of course get a pile of other stuff, but that will be their main gift.

So how are your Christmas preparations going? Are you planning on making anything, or are you buying everything?

I planted my two new apple trees on Wednesday. So now I have four apple trees and one pear tree now in my "orchard." One of my questions, is that a couple of the trees have a couple of apples on them. As they are new trees, do I pick these apples this year, or do I leave them on the tree???

Here are a couple of photos. The first photo shows the two new apple trees:

This photo shows all the fruit trees in my "orchard."

(click on the photo for more detail)

I also need help identifying these trees. I am thinking the first two photos are a crab apple tree, as the apples are quite small. I cannot remember what colour the flower was, but think they were white.These next two photos are of the same tree. The apples seem a little bigger, so not sure if its a crab apple tree or a regular apple tree, how would I find out? Also the apples seem to have some sort of disease, any ideas? I do know that tent caterpillars were in these trees.These last two photos, are of a smaller tree, again I am thinking a crab apple tree?One thing for sure, I am going to try and make crab apple jelly, as its supposed to be really good? This recipe sounds simple and easy to follow. Has anyone made crab apple jelly before?

I also pulled out another trailer load of weeds from the veggie garden AGAIN!!! I also dug up a couple of potato tops and there was enough for a couple of meals for us. I then did the most difficult job yet, and it was hard work; I started to pull out the thistles. That was so hard to do, and I wore thick suede work gloves and I still got prickled. Plus my poor arms were all scratched to bits and were bleeding. I figured that as the ground was so wet it would make them easier to pull out?

Also my cabbages and Brussels sprouts are being eaten to death, and I saw white butterflies around them, so my dad suggested spraying water with dish washing liquid in it? I don't want to use pesticides, so will have to give it a try.

My zucchini plants are just so small, I have some flowers on them, but have no idea if I will get any zucchini's from them. The butternut squash have no flowers on them yet, but I am hoping I will get some squash. Its not been the best year for me for my veggie garden.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

So I go to see my doctor on Tuesday. Appointment at 11:10am finally get into his office at 12 noon :0( to find he has a "learner doctor" shadowing him, and I had to talk to her first. So I say I want to see Dr. A. she says fine but wants to know what I want. So I tell her the story, she checks my throat, fine; she then checks my ears, I tell her my right one feels full, she checks it and she says its clear. So I say okay.......

She then goes and gets Dr. A. Dr. A. arrives and he asks me to tell him what's what......didn't I just do that with the "learner???" So I tell the story again, and he looks at my throat, he then looks at my ear, and says oh yes the right one is bulging (???) he then looks up my nose and says the right nostril is blocked and yes I have allergies...............duh, I KNOW THAT!!! Apparently though the "learner," didn't!!! So the nasal blockage, is causing pressure on my ear.

So the gist of the conversation was, I HAVE to use a nasal spray twice a day, daily until allergy season is over (whenever that may be??) I can carry on with the Aerius, and after 10 days I can stop it to see what happens. I can have a referral for allergy tests to see what I am allergic too, but not until November as they will not do it during allergy season??? Meanwhile I am supposed to close all the windows and stay indoors after 5pm.........I just looked at him when he said that........

So I am no better off as I still have no idea to what I am allergic too......

I left the house at 9am and finally got home at 2:15pm, I was shattered. I had to go to Lowes to exchange a light fixture. I called in at HomeSense and picked up a couple of things. I then called in at the grocery store and picked up some things on sale. Had to get gas and then called into the town offices, as in our property tax statement there was a notice saying that if we wanted info on cheap trees and saplings to mail it in. It turns out the town negotiates with nurseries for bulk buy on trees and saplings and gets them at a huge discount. The lady thought you could get 100 saplings for around $10. So depending on the price we may get some trees for the property when they sell them next Spring.

I picked some blackcurrants for my dad tonight and some raspberries for him. However the poor raspberries have had a beating with all the rain we have had and don't look that great. It took me ages just to pick a good container full. Then as I am writing this on Tuesday night, its thundering and lightening again, and the forecast for Wednesday is for rain all day. So I think the end of the raspberry season is more or less here. I do have a couple of blackberry/bramble bushes but they are not ready yet.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Not sure where the weekend went too. One minute it was Saturday morning, before you know it, here I am writing this on Monday night.

We got the stairs put in on Saturday morning, dh's boss and ds both helped dh and the carpenter put them in. Below are some photos of them....however we are not allowed to use them until I have them stained and varnished, so at the moment they are a bit of an ornament...LOL We have put a couple of sheets of plywood over the opening to prevent anyone using them. It's my goal to make a start on the staining this week. They are also a accident waiting to happen, as we have no banister or railings up at the moment, luckily we have no small children living in the house, just to senile adults...LOL

Dd and boyfriend also visited on Saturday and then later in the afternoon we went out and picked some things up at Lowes we needed, including an outside light. When we got home we opened the box and it was the wrong light in the box.......so will have to take that back and exchange it.

Sunday was a strange day weather wise, as it kept raining on and off, however I did manage to make a start on cutting the grass as I only did one hours worth of cutting the grass this past week. The weather has been terrible with a lot of rain, so I was determined to get something done, as if I wait until the grass is dry I could be waiting forever at this rate. Dh did some electrical work in the attic, but it's a long slow job.

A lady and her daughter called in to see if she could pick some blackcurrants and I helped them pick half a pint before the heavens opened. She said she would pop by after work on Monday night. Well "S" did call in and we "clicked" and I do believe we will be firm friends for ever more. We have so much in common and she is a really nice person. We picked another 4 half pints of blackcurrants and 2 half pints of raspberries,she is going to be busy making jam.

I spent most of Monday cutting the rest of the grass, and I am pleased to report by 8pm Monday night the whole of the grass on the property has been cut!! I think I cut a good four acres, of the 4.8 acres we own. So it's not a five minute job.

We popped into the closest town to pick up a couple of apple trees that were on sale for half price. So I have to get them planted as soon as possible. However I also discovered we have a couple of apple trees at the edge of the property. Not sure if they are regular apple trees or crab apples. The apples though do a little big for crab apples. I will take some photos and post them to see what you guys think.

You know Monday was a good day, and it felt good to live where we live and own what we own; it was one of those days, if you know what I mean?

Monday, July 27, 2009

I have been tagged by dulwichmum in a meme to list seven words that describe me! Only seven words, and I am guessing they should be honest lovely words!! After reading dulwichmum's words, not sure what I can say, her list was pretty funny.....

So here goes:

Busy - I mean since moving to The Acreage one day seems to run into another. We took possession of The Acreage on April 28th, that's close to three months ago. Where did those three months go too?

Suntanned - Well actually I don't tan I go bright red like a lobster and peel, very attractive!!! Actually it is only my face and arms that are red, as I cover up the rest of my body in the hopes the insects don't feed on me.

Friendly - I have made an effort to be as friendly as possible with everyone around here, well other than the maniacs on the road who are trying to kill me. Oh and the poor police officer who I yelled at the other day.

Protective - I am very protective of my children and husband, despite the fact they are all grown up, I still feel they need me. They may disagree with me but I know better!!!!

Mother - basically the same as above, my children will always need their mother.

Wife - I am of course the perfect wife, who is always as sweet as apple pie, and if anyone disagrees with me (dh), they will suffer.......oops did I say that outloud.

Trier (is there such a word?) - I will always have a go at something even if I have never done it before. And since moving up here, I have tried doing more things than I ever have done.

I saw this meme over at Linda's blog and thought it was a good one to participate in and pass on.

•Sowing seed or Planting : This year I made a small veggie plot. It wasn't much but it was enough to let us have the odd meal straight from the garden.

•Planning for The Future : I have been making raspberry jam, both for us to eat and for gifts. I have blackberry jelly to make when the berries are ready, again for us and for gifts. I want to plan out what to do with the veggie garden next year, and be more organized in the garden. When it gets cooler out and the gardening season slows down I want to start the sewing up again and make a few things as gifts.

•Working for the Future : I am going to apply for a couple of part time jobs, in the hopes I may get one. This will help us bring a little more money in the house, so we can complete more jobs around the house.

•Building Community: I have been culivating friendships with my immediate neighbours, as I believe good neighbours are a blessing. I am joining a bookclub in September, again to cultivate more friendships and network with people.

•Learn a new Skill: I am going to be staining and varnishing the new staircase. This is a job I have never done before. Since moving to this house I have done a few things I have never done before. I want to learn how to make concrete. I have learned how drive a lawn tractor on a hill without rolling it over!!!

If you want to participate in either or both of these meme's please feel free. I won't tag anyone specifically, I'll leave it up to you.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

There is one thing I am growing in abundance this year and that is Thistles, however despite the fact they are a weed, they do have a very pretty flower.For more of Today's Flower photos, please click on this link

West Jet is a Western Canadian Airline with its head office situated in Calgary, Alberta . West Jet airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight 'safety lecture' and announcements very entertaining in order to have the passengers focused on safety.. There is no other Airline in the world quite like West Jet. I have heard some of these myself. Here are some real examples though that have been heard and reported:On a West Jet flight, passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing a seat, when a flight attendant announced, 'People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!'------------ --------- --On another West Jet Flight with a very 'senior' flight attendant crew, the pilot said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.'------------ --------- ---On landing, the stewardess said, 'Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.'------------ --------- ---'There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.'------------ --------- --'Thank you for flying West Jet Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.'------------ --------- ------As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at the Vancouver Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: 'Whoa, big fella. WHOA!'------------ --------- ----After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Ontario, a flight attendant on a West Jet flight announced, 'Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.'------------ --------- --From a West Jet Airlines employee: 'Welcome aboard West Jet Flight 245 to Calgary ... To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised. '------------ ---------'In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.'------------ --------- --'Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than West Jet Airlines.'------------ --------- ---'Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments. '------------ --------- --'As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.'------------ --------- ------And from the pilot during his welcome message: 'West Jet Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!'------------ --------- --------Heard on West Jet Airlines just after a very hard landing in Edmonton : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, 'That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt.'------------ --------- ---------Overheard on a West Jet Airlines flight into Regina , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Regina . Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!'------------ --------- ---------Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: 'We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.'------------ ---------An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a 'Thanks for flying our airline.' He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, 'Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?''Why, no, Ma'am,' said the pilot. 'What is it?'The little old lady said, 'Did we land, or were we shot down?'------------ -------After a real crusher of a landing in Halifax , the attendant came on with, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.'------------ --------- --Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: 'We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of West Jet Airways.'------------ --------- --Heard on a West Jet Airline flight. 'Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em.'------------ --------- --A plane was taking off from the Winnipeg Airport . After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from Winnipeg to Montreal .. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.... OH, MY GOD!'Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!' A passenger in Coach yelled, 'That's nothing. You should see the back of mine

I personally have never flown with West Jet, but this would make me want to fly with them as the staff obviously have a great sense of humour.Also there is a neat video on You Tube that I first saw on Clippy Mat's blog. It was mentioned in our newspaper on Saturday and if you haven't seen it, click on this link, its fun.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

I am not sure if I have talked about this before on my blog before but here goes and yes it is a rant.

So we move to the country for a slower paced, less stressful type of life. When we lived in the city the way people drove left a lot to be desired. Half the population had never seen snow, never mind driven in it. In case you think I am being prejudiced, I for one had never driven in snow before arriving in Canada. So of course when the first snow arrives, all hell breaks loose, as people either driven like lunatics, too fast, or drive like snails, which is just as dangerous. Then don't get me going on traffic lights. All I can think of is that we have a heck of a lot of colour blind people, as such a lot of people think the red light is the green light and accordingly drive through it...........YES I AM BEING SARCASTIC HERE!!!

Little did I realize that moving to the country means people drive like racing car drivers. I mean dh will tell you about people overtaking him on a country winding road, which has NO street lights on it, and he is doing over 100 km's an hour and this is at 4:45am. The road we live on is busy at times, and they drive like crazy people on it. The double yellow lines means nothing and they cross them regardless. I mean I am doing the speed limit which is 80 km's an hour and folk are just passing me however dangerous it is, or could be.

Friday was the last straw though. I was driving to town to get some groceries and was on a straight stretch of road. A person driving towards me wasn't going fast enough, so this black SUV decided to pass them. When I saw him pull out, I figured, they would pull right back in as they must have seen me; but no they carried on towards me. I slowed down to a stop; luckily there was no one behind me; and by God's grace they missed me.

I was shaking, and so angry that someone would be so irresponsible. So I called in at the OPP (Police Station) and complained. It seems to me that no one around here takes a blind bit of notice of how fast you should travel on these roads. As I pointed out someone is going to get killed, and if it is me, I AM NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY!!!! So he took my information and said he would log the complaint. A fat lot of good it will do, but I felt better complaining about it.

However, now I am going to have to go out and buy more hair dye, as I am sure another half dozen grey hairs popped up due to that horrible experience.

***UPDATE on Friday night there was a police car parked at the next concession/road catching speeders, so maybe my yelling session did some good?***

Friday, July 24, 2009

I have an over abundance of raspberries and due to my allergies, and the rotten weather I haven't wanted to spend every waking moment out there picking them. So rather than the birds have them, I decided to share with family, friends and neighbours. It has proved to have given me more than I had ever expected.

I have made a number of new friends and acquaintances; one lady in particular will become a firm and close friend I am sure as we "clicked" right away. One neighbour came over with a dozen brown farm eggs........yum, yum in exchange for some raspberries. Another neighbour brought me some seeds from her poppies. One couple will be making raspberry jam for the first time in years, as they find it too expensive to buy raspberries from the store. I could go on and on, but you get the gist. These raspberries have proved to be a blessing.

So if you have an over abundance of something share with others, as sharing pays you back ten fold. I for one get more please out of giving than receiving. How about you?

After yesterday's baseball story, I thought I'd tell you the hockey story. Again, I know nothing about ice hockey and so when dh gets tickets given for the Maple Leafs games he generally takes ds or future son in law. For some reason this one time, neither were available, so he took me. Now these are good seats, pretty close to the ice.

So we go and I get my snacks and settle in, and when the game starts of course after a minute I find it boring and start to watch everything else but the game. A couple of minutes later, I happen to look at the score board thingy and it say 6 - 7??? I am puzzled as I had no idea they had scored that many goals in such a short time. So I ask dh when all this had happened? He points out that they are the "hits on the goal," or something like that??? I haven't been to a game since, or have been invited to one.......and you know what I'm not missing anything!!!

I am quite doped up today with the medication. I was in bed by 8pm last night, as I couldn't keep my eyes open. Dh rang just after 7am this morning, as I am normally up, but I was still in bed. My eyes are a lot better though which is good, but are still tearing up. I can see me having a quiet day though today, which is fine by me, as its pouring down. Infact it may be a perfect opportunity to catch up on everyone's blogs and do some reading.

I spent all yesterday morning picking raspberries with a new friend. I then made a couple of batches of raspberry jam in the afternoon. I have no sugar now, so I can't make any more until I get sugar. One of the neighbours popped over also to pick raspberries, so that was nice.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

So days it never seems to end......Tuesday I had to take the car into the garage AGAIN!!! This time to get the C V Boot replaced, so another $290 spent there. This had better be it, as it's getting really annoying now the car constantly having problems.

Then later on in the day we had to have the UV Filter/Light serviced. It's connected to our water softener, and it kills bad things in the water.........well that's my understanding of it. $225 later.....that's what he charged us. Once I got over the shock I decided it was well worth the money..........why........well remember back when we moved into the house and I harped on for ever more about the stupid water softener, and not knowing it was working or not? Well it wasn't working properly and he showed us what was wrong and he sorted that out. He explained how it all worked and what we should or shouldn't do. He then showed us step-by-step how to service the UV Light ourselves, saving us a bunch of money for now on. The bulb is close to $100 (incl taxes) still but at least we will save the $87 service charge. So although it was expensive, if was a well worth expense.

Now for an allergy update. My poor eyes are so sore, as they are constantly tearing up. So as I was at the garage, I called in at the doctors office to see if I could see the doctor, the earliest I could see him, is next Tuesday. So I stood there and said, what should I do in between hands? The receptionist suggested I talk to the pharmacist downstairs. So that is what I did.

The gist of the conversation was the Claritin isn't working, and neither is the HYDROXYZINE HCL that I take at night. So I have to take the HYDROXYZINE HCL three times a day on Wednesday and Thursday, in the hopes it will pump enough antihistamine into my body that is will stop the allergy symptoms. I then can start taking Aerius on Friday, and just take the HYDROXYZINE on a night. I also mentioned to her that I thought I was probably starting with another ear infection and she said that was probably true as I have so much fluid in my head, and to put the drops I have in the ear.

Now the downside of the HYDROXYZINE is that it makes you drowsy. I won't be allowed to drive on Wednesday and Thursday, and I am guessing I won't be fit for much else, especially on Thursday. However if it stops my eyes tearing up and being so itchy I will do anything.

I left a note in my mailbox for our mail lady to let her know if she wanted to pick some raspberries feel free. So she arrived Tuesday afternoon with her husband, both are in their late 70's, early 80's and what a lovely couple they are. They were ever so grateful to pick them and were so looking forward to eating them. I told them to come back next week if they wanted some more. It gave me as much pleasure seeing them picking them, as it gave them to pick them.

Now for the baseball story.....I am not a sports fan. Dh got a pair of tickets given for the Blue Jays baseball for the World Series game back in the 1990's. Scalpers were willing to pay goodness knows what for the seats even in the nosebleed section. I wanted to sell the tickets but dh wanted to see the game. Anyhoo, we sit down and start to watch the game. Well dh watches the game, I am busy watching everything else but the game. I was watching something, then all hell broke loose, everyone was up cheering and clapping, I am still sat there wondering what on earth is going on, and I had missed Joe Carter (I think that is his name??) hitting the winning run (s) and making sure the Blue Jays won the World Series. Needless to say, dh wasn't impressed, and every true baseball fan groans at this story!!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

other than the telephone not working all day. No idea what happened, but one of the cables came loose. I called Bell Canada, and they were going to charge me $87 for a service call if the fault was ours. Thank goodness I didn't call them out, as it was one of our wires, so we would have had to pay. Luckily dh was able to repair it himself, saving us some money there.

Below is the photos of my dragonfly door knocker.

I managed to get upstairs tidied up, which was good. I got an hours worth of grass cut. Picked some raspberries and made 8 pots of raspberry jam, did two loads of laundry and ironing. It may not sound like a lot of stuff done, but it took me all day to do that.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Well as promised here is the before and after of the work that was done in the landing ceiling to get it ready for the new stairs.

I know you're disappointed, its nothing exciting, but it was vital work, otherwise we couldn't put the stairs in. Next week's photos will be more interesting when we actually see stairs. Its very dusty in the house, not helped by the fact they used a chain saw to cut the joists, as that was the easiest, fastest way to do it. It was noisy though when they used the chain saw and it set off the fire alarm!!! Still it's a great job over with, can't wait until next Saturday when the stairs arrive.

Now for the allergies part. My poor eyes feel awful they are all swollen, red and puffy. They seem to be worse at bedtime and in the morning, is that typical? Also not sure what is going on with my ears, as there was gunk in my other ear Sunday morning, that's generally a sign of me getting an ear infection {{{SIGH}}} I swear if I have to go back to the doctors again this week, I will not be happy :0(

Afternoon out: that is a bit of an exaggeration, we went out for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon to Home Depot, and to do some grocery shopping. I just needed another "A" word.

When we got back I actually made a start on weeding the veggie garden. I did more after supper and managed to get a trailer load of weeds. I can sort of see the veggie plants now, I mean it was a forest of weeds. Nothing though is really doing that well, other than the raspberries and blackcurrants!! Still as I said before, we hadn't planned on putting in a veggie garden this year, so anything I pick from there is a bonus.

Dh was a love and repaired my headlight on the car, which saved us another bill from the garage. He also did some more work on the fireplace and he installed my dragonfly door knocker. I should take a photo of that as it is cute.

One thing I do know for sure this weekend sure flew by, as do most days.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

This week I decided to have a theme of sorts and the flowers I chose are all succulents. Don't know the exact names for them all. but at least they are from the same family, which I suppose is better than nothing. Once again sorry about the quality of the photos.For more of Today's Flower photos, please click on this link

Had some friends pop up on Saturday morning to pick some raspberries and blackcurrants. Now "P" drove and when she got out of the car with the other "P" and her son, the first thing she does is lock her car................now who would steal her car while in our driveway I do not know. I thought it was funny, but it got me thinking, I still do that, I automatically lock the car doors. It's inbred into you in the city that everything has to be locked, and you do it without even thinking about it. It made me feel very countrified that I picked up on this, and may be a turning point on me turning from a city girl to a country girl?

Anyhow, they managed to pick a lot of berries, so hopefully they will be busy making things. Then another couple of our friends came by with his mother, who is from Saudi. So some of my berries and a pot of my raspberry jam is going to Saudi next month, which is sort of neat. I do know that we all ate plenty of berries throughout the morning!!

Meanwhile dh was busy with the carpenter putting a hole in the ceiling on the landing. However that job came to a full stop when they discovered a wire going across the hole. So the carpenter left, and me and dh had to remove the wire and pull in another wire. It's been a while since I have helped dh pull in wires. Thank goodness dh is an electrician, so that is saving us some money. It took us a couple of hours to sort that out and the carpenter is coming back on Sunday morning to finish the job. We are hoping that he will have the stairs ready for us to install next Saturday.

The carpenter's wife is going to come by and pick blackcurrants on Tuesday, as she loves blackcurrant jam. I did pick a couple of containers of raspberries for our freezer and a container of blackcurrants for my dad. I hope to make some more raspberry jam this coming week.

So as I am writing this on Saturday night, I have to say I am pooped as its been a busy but good day. I will post a before and after photo of the upstairs landing on Monday's post.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The reason I ask, I entered a competition on Friday with the TD Bank, and the prize was $10,000 for Home Renovation. Now as this is a "pretend" thing, you can spend it any way you like.

Me, well I would use it for home renovations, as we have so much more to do. I would use $5,000 to finish off the attic. I would use $3,000 to replace the windows in the basement. The last $2,000 I would use to build closets in our bedroom!!! If there was any change, I would use it get paint supplies to decorate the house. Gosh that $10,000 was spent pretty quickly don't you think?

Funny thing is, if it were $100,000 I could still spend it on the house with a blink of an eye. I would build a new double garage, $20,000, tarmac the driveway, $10,000. Put new siding on the extension and mud room, $5,000. Re-do the mud room completely, $10,000. New hardwood flooring and finishing of in the family room $5,000. Finish off the extension basement, $5,000. New washer and dryer, $2,000, new shed $3,000. Landscaping $10,000, new kitchen cupboards and counter tops, $20,000, the final $10,000, everything from the $10,000 list above. Again pretty easy to spend that sort of money...LOL

On Friday I spent the day doing jobs around the house. I have friends popping in on Saturday to pick raspberries, so wanted to have the house looking half tidy.

I did pick some raspberries for ourselves on Friday afternoon and made a pear and raspberry crisp for our pudding on Friday night, it was so good. I also did another half hour of cleaning the stove top to try and get the burnt jam off it. Its a lot better, but there are still some minor marks on it, so I will give it another go on the weekend. I am cursing up and down for letting the jam boil over on my stove!!

This morning when I went to hang out the laundry I saw the mother turkey with her young at the bottom of Kamikazie Hill, I couldn't get too close to them again...

Friday, July 17, 2009

I got the deal of the week this morning, I called in at No Frills to pick up some pectin, and they had a canning kit (photo below) for $1.99Can you believe that? I mean the the tongs alone are $6.99 at Canadian Tire. I saw the exact same package in Canadian Tire for $13.49 just the other day.

So I decided to make some jam today and used the light version which only uses 4 1/2 cups of sugar per 6 cups of crushed raspberries, and the "light" pectin. It only made four jars, but it looks and smells good.

I then made Raspberry Muffins using this recipe. I will be making this recipe again, as its simple and foolproof.

I also made a Raspberry Coffee Cake, using this recipe. Again simple recipe, and one that I will make again.

Finally I made some Blackcurrant Jelly, and to cut a long horrible story short, which included it boiling over on my stove, still haven't got that mess cleaned totally off the stove top. The jelly could be used as glue, plus it is only half the amount it should be. Can any expert jam/jelly makers tell me what I should do? As I have no idea what I should do, as I can't even spread it. It wouldn't be so bad, but I don't even like the rotten stuff!!!

I wish I had taken a photo, but I didn't. I picked up a roast of beef On Thursday when I was in No Frills, it should have been $8.89, and it had a $5 off sticker on it, so I put it in the crockpot using the recipe below.

Anyhow, neither me nor dh are big meat eaters, but when this roast had cooked, there was just enough for me and dh. I don't know how people who are big meat eaters can afford it? We had Yorkshire Puddings (recipe also on the above link) with carrots and gravy. There are enough Yorkshire Puddings and gravy leftover for my lunch on Friday, which will be tasty.

So all in all I had a good productive day, though I was pooped by the end of the day.

I saw a Northern Flicker in the garden also on Thursday night, but I couldn't get a photo, as it flew away. Here is a photo of one, taken from this site:

Also at the end of the field, I saw a wild turkey with her young. Again I went to photograph them, but if course they disappeared!!! Here is a site with more info on them.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I picked a pile of raspberries on Tuesday and was going to take them down to "B" to sell. However he didn't open up on Wednesday, so I decided to take some of the raspberries to the four neighbours closest to us.

I have met two of the neighbours before, but haven't met the other two yet. One of them turns out to be a 72 year old farmer who is a widower and such a super nice guy. Has only been on the farm for the past 40 years, so a bit of a "newcomer," to the area........LOL

The other neighbour wasn't in, so left them between the doors, with a note, saying they were from "Gill at the old "Perry" place"; as anyone who has lived around this area, knows it as "The old Perry Place." Even the farmer was saying although he has lived at his farm for 40 years, it still goes by the previous owners old name when talking to the "locals!!" So I am guessing I won't be classed as a local anytime soon!! I wonder how long you have to live in a place to be classed as a local?

I dropped off a larger container to the neighbour behind us, as he scraped the driveway for us. He also offered to help us spread the gravel on the driveway when we get it. That was super nice of him, wasn't it?

I have decided I am going to make jam with the rest of the raspberries I picked as they are really ripe. I may also pick some blackcurrants and make some blackcurrant jelly, if I have enough sugar. I bought a jelly bag especially for this job, but I needn't have bothered, as when I was talking to my mam about it, she said they always used a pillow case tied up to strain the berries. I could have saved myself a little money there.

On the allergy front, the medication he gave me to take on a night for the allergies, is much too strong for me, I spent Wednesday in a complete daze and half asleep. I did sleep like a log though, but got barely anything done, which is no good at all. I did get the rest of the attic vacuumed out. Got a little bit of grass cut and did laundry. Here's hoping Thursday will be a better day.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I did pick some raspberries, 21 half pints for sale and a small dish for us.

I cut some grass and even picked some weeds out of the veggie patch, and I have discovered I have five butternut squash plants growing in amongst the weeds. The three zucchini plants are flowering.

I even dug up a potato top to see how they are coming along, and below is what I dug up. They are of course not ready but there was enough for me and dh's supper on Tuesday night and they were ssssoooooo good, very sweet and very tender.

The most amazing thing about all this we weren't even planning on putting in a vegetable garden this year, so everything is a bonus.

So the doctors visit. I now have a outer ear infection, not an inner ear infection now, so have antibiotic drops for my ears, why I couldn't have got these last week is beyond me? I also have drops for my eyes, a nasal spray and some allergy medication for night. I would actually like to have an allergy test to see exactly what I have allergies too, which I think would be helpful, wouldn't you?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Thanks for all your replies yesterday I really appreciated all your comments.

So on Monday, I did manage to get half of the attic vacuumed before I had problems with the shop vac. All in all that took me around an hour. I had a couple of loads of laundry which I hung out and got dried and ironed. It was super windy all day so they were dry in no time. I got the house tidied up and did some tidying up in the kitchen. All which made me happy, as I love to see the house nice and tidy. I actually enjoy just pottering around the house doing bits and bobs.

The allergies aren't too bad in the morning, but as the day progresses it gets worse. I have made an appointment for the doctors on Tuesday morning, so we'll see what this one has to say about my ear. I did manage to get some grass cut on Monday night, and will have to say I was scratching my nose a lot afterwards.

I also noticed I have a pile of raspberries ready, so will have to get them picked sooner rather than later. I did manage to get some weeding done in my veggie patch, not much, but a start. I am not sure where to start first, as the grass needs to be cut, the rasps need to be picked and the veggie garden is more weeds than veggies.......any ideas? Don't panic I am not stressing, just trying to decide which job should be done first?

I have to call into the garage also Tuesday morning, as I need to get this C V Boot thingy fixed, and they need to see the car, so they can order the part, that will be another $300. On a more positive note, dh can mend my headlight for $10.

All in all Monday was a more positive day, helped by the fact that I am feeling a lot better. Thanks for listening to me........

Monday, July 13, 2009

So I have been feeling pretty crappy now for the past week or so, what with having the ear infection, and you remember I said I thought I had been bitten on my ear? Well my ears have been itching like crazy, my eyes, I could just gouge them out as they are so itchy, and my nose is equally as itchy, and keeps running. Yes you have guessed right, I have allergies/hay fever. I have never ever had allergies in my life, now all of a sudden I have them???

So I went to the pharmacy on Sunday, as I felt terrible and the pharmacist suggested I start on Clariton, to see how that goes. I got the ones where you take one pill in the morning and that is it. I took one as soon as I got home, as this is just plain horrible. All I could think of, was I moved to the country where we have five acres, most of which I cut and I end up with allergies, it's just not fair.

Also on Sunday morning me and dh spent over two hours in the attic, clearing up the old blown-in insulation, which was just plain icky, dusty and mouse dropping infested. We wore gloves and masks, but even so it was nasty, and that aggravated my allergies to no end. I still have to go up there on Monday to vacuum up the little bits that are left. Poor dh is in so much pain with his shoulders that I can't expect him to work all day and then start in the attic.

Talking of the attic, we had a heck of a thunderstorm on Saturday night, and dh seems to think the roof may be leaking beside where they put the new skylight in. {{{SIGH}}} He's not 100% sure though, as we did have the window open a tiny bit, but we have to keep an eye on that, and dh will call "K" just to let him know.

My car will be the death of me, I swear {{{SIGH}}} The headlight bulb is not broken, its a wire that seems to have been torn. Funny thing is ds friend was replacing something close to those wires last week??? The C V Boot is torn on the side where the strut went, so dh is going to call the garage to have words with them, as that should have been replaced at the same time as the strut was replaced {{{SIGH}}}

I mean if it isn't one thing it's another. Does this sort of bad luck ever end? I was at a point on Sunday, that if someone had said I want to buy your house I would have said where do I sign, as ever since we have moved here its been one thing after another. It has to get better, doesn't it? As at this point it can't get worse..........

Well not exactly nothing, but not getting anything much done around the house.

We headed to Creemore first thing as we had to pay a deposit for the stairs. They have a Farmers Market and we popped by, but I have to say I was surprised at the prices, they were pretty expensive. I know the produce was organic, but paying $5 for a bunch of organic carrots was a little high if you ask me. I did pay $4.50 for a loaf of garlic, chive and cheese bread, and yes it was yummy.

There was a British lady selling home baked goodies, including scones with strawberry jam and cream at $2 per scone??? As dh said to me, you should do that and I agree. I had a home based baking business in England, and I love baking, so I may look into this.

I am still plowing through "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," by Barbara Kingsolver. It's not a lighthearted read and you do need to be concentrating on the book as you read it. I have just read the chapter where she talks about Genetic Modification of the seeds, and how 6 companies control 98% of all the world's seeds, and how important heirloom seeds are. Which actually makes sense, as nothing tastes better than local homegrown fruits and vegetables, and the flavour of an heirloom variety of a fruit or vegetable has a completely different taste to a mass produced fruit or veggie.

We came home and had lunch at home, then popped into one of the towns to go to Home Hardware, dh's home away from home!! Plus I had to go to No Frills to pick up a few groceries. When we got home and I had unpacked the shopping, we then went to the other town. This time I wanted to go to Canadian Tire to get a canning pan and jelly bags, as I want to try and make Blackcurrant Jelly. I need to do something with these blackcurrants, as its a waste to just leave them on the bush.

When we got back from there, friends popped by to pick some raspberries and have a visit. They brought a coffee cake with them which was nice and we had a catch up. Infact the dh is going to help us with the stairs, which will be a great help. Me and the dw picked some raspberries for her. I really enjoy their company, and they are a pleasure to be with.

So all in all we had a lovely day, and dh rested his shoulder, but we didn't achieve a lot around the house. I do know Sunday will be completely different as we have a lot planned for the day!!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Can't believe I have done 600 posts. Goodness knows what I have managed to ramble on about for 600 times...LOL

So what has happened now you ask? Well would you believe I have been bitten on my ear lobe, probably by a mosquito. Gosh it hurts and it is so swollen. Oh and also its the same ear as my one with the ear infection, which to my mind isn't getting a lot better {{SIGH}} I swear if it isn't one thing its another.

Below is a photo of the new skylight in the attic. What a difference it has made. It's a 4' x 4' window. Its also helping to make the attic a little cooler, as we are now getting a cross breeze. So all we need now is to get the soffit ventilation sorted out, and then we can get on.

I picked up my "earning's" Friday night $58. I was only able to pick another 6 containers of raspberries, and "B" only sold one of my blackcurrant's. I brought the rest of the blackcurrant's home and need to figure out what I am going to do with them. Also none of the bouquet's of "wildflowers," sold.......never mind, it was worth a try!! I don't have to pick anymore raspberries until next Wednesday.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Despite me being sick, I never stopped on Thursday. I went to see "B" who is going to sell the raspberries for me. He gave me the containers and told me he would pay me $2 per container (1/2 pint). To cut a long story short I ended up picking 22 containers over the day. He wanted more as they were selling very well, but I put my foot down, as it was hot, I was tired; it kills my back picking them, plus I was getting to the end of the ones that were ripe.

These are some of the containers I picked.

I picked some blackcurrants after supper on Thursday night, I will be selling them at $2 a container as well. However I am not pushing them, as they are a royal pain to pick. So we'll see how these 6 containers sell and go from there.

Now I had another bright idea. Due to the fact that I haven't weeded anywhere, we have weeds/wildflowers growing all over the raspberry patch. So I decided to pick some and make a flower arrangement. What do you think? The pink flower in the middle is a thistle, its actually very pretty.

So I had this bright idea, why not make some bunches of these and get the guy to sell them as well?? I am thinking he could sell them for $5 a bunch? I would sell them to him for $3.50 a bunch. I thought I would try this out on Friday as that is when he is busiest, as that is when people travel up to their cottages. I thought I would take my arrangement down and show him.

So on Friday in between everything else, the country boys are coming to put in the skylight window in the attic. Problem though as its supposed to be stinking hot, so the attic will be just boiling hot. I told the woman who called to tell them to arrive early, but she said they wouldn't be coming until at least 9am.......they can't say I didn't warn them.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

who else do you know that has the Atlantic Ocean swishing about in their right ear? Yes that's right I have another ear infection. I have liquid also in the left ear, but its the right one that is the worst.

I had to go down to my doctors office in Brampton, to see a doctor, as there are no walk-in clinics in the two towns closest to where we live now. Also none of the doctors in either town are taking on new patients. I have decided though to put our names on the waiting list for when a doctor does accept new patients. I don't think its just our area where doctors are in short supply, it's all over Canada. Is it the same in the area where you live?

Anyhow the doctor I saw was a "learner," and as the liquid is clear in my ears, which is more than I can say for the Atlantic Ocean; that is dirty looking, she decided antibiotics wouldn't work, and she did confer with another doctor on this. So she told me to buy some over the counter medication, like "Sinutab," which I did.

I am pooped though with it all, so Wednesday I did very little. I must be sick though, as I had to pop round to my dad's to pick up the Wiarton Slate he had picked up for our hearth, and my step-mum wanted to know if I wanted to go to the mall, and I said no, as I was so tired. For me to turn down a trip to the mall, means I must be sick!!!

On the way home I called in at a "10 Minute Oil Change," place. It proved to be an interesting visit, as they told me my C V Boot was torn? Now he may as well told me, I was going to have to change the oil myself, as I was clueless. Anyhow, told dh about it, and he had a look and can see nothing wrong with it? So no idea what is going on there, other than the kids who changed the oil, really didn't know what they were talking about. I do however have a front headlight out, so that is something that needs attention.

My car needs to last another 4 years come hell or high water, as we can't afford to get another one until then. Plus even though my car is now 7 years old, it doesn't have 100,000 km on it yet. I managed to get gas for 90.5 cents a litre today which I thought was good. I did however forget to bring the gas tanks for the lawn tractor which sucked, as knowing my luck the gas price will go up tomorrow!!

As per the weather forecast on Wednesday, they said again that we are in for a wicked winter, so we need to get on with insulating and winterizing our house!!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

On Tuesday I was out cutting the field and I had to put dh's woollen hat on and a fleece jacket. I mean it was really cold out there. We didn't get the rain that was forecast, so I suppose that was good, but boy was it cool. I was only complaining a couple of weeks ago at how hot it was. Plus it is killing my head, I got another horrible headache on Tuesday. On the weather forecast on Tuesday night, they were saying July was going to remain cool, and we are going to have a bitter cold winter??? Is the weather all over the place where you live?

Did you watch the Michael Jackson memorial service? I watched it on and off, and will admit to shedding a few tears when his daughter Paris spoke; that was just plain sad. I also found Brooke Shields speech moving; she was clearly upset.

Also over the past couple of days it's been Christmas on Eastenders, and I got a shock when Pauline Fowler died beside Arthur's seat in the square. I know Wendy Richards had passed away in real life, I just didn't realise this is how she was going to die in the series? We are of course a long way behind you guys in Britain.

I think I may have an ear infection, I haven't been feeling well for a couple of days now, and my ears have been hurting for around a week now. When I wake up in a morning, my ears are all crusted up....is that too much information??? So I may end up going to a walk in clinic in the closest town to us today..........I'll see how I feel and if I can be bothered. I used to have numerous ear infections as a child, and I still get them every now and then.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

I have a link on the bottom of my blog which tells me who visits my blog and where from etc. I haven't looked at it in a long while but for some reason on Monday I "peeked." I was so surprised to see that I am averaging around 168 visits everyday. So for those of you who are visiting my little old blog a big, big thank you. Now don't be shy leave me a message, as I love to hear from people.

Now the Afro hairstyle comment. Have you ever heard of the expression that eating burnt toast will make your hair curly? Well on Monday night I decided to barbecue, which is never a good idea. Dh doesn't cook period, never has and probably never will. So all the cooking is left for me to do, which I don't mind. However I hate barbecuing, as everything I cook on it turns black. I think the problem is I tend to wander off, to do other stuff in between flipping the burgers. I know on Monday night I prepared the fixings for the burgers, prepared a Cesar salad, set the table etc, etc.

So of course the burgers were a tad on the black side again. You've got to admire dh, he never ever complains. So that is why we should have Afro hairstyles as we always eat burnt food when I barbecue. On a more positive side, I maybe only barbecue once a week in the summer, which is just as well, as the smoke coming out of the barbecue when I barbecue may make someone want to call the fire brigade!!

Do you barbecue and if you do, what is your favourite recipe? I tend to only barbecue burgers or sausages.

I picked some more raspberries on Monday, only another 14 ounces. The guy didn't open up so never got to talk to him. Monday was a quiet day, with nothing much happening around the acreage, which believe me is a good thing!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Now that is a Styrofoam container and that is 8oz of raspberries. That took me 15 minutes to pick. There are a lot not ready, so I had to "look" for these ones. I think in a couple of days the picking would be easier. Now in the stores 6oz of raspberries are around $3, I was hoping to sell this container to the guy for $2? What do you think?

The blackcurrants are also more or less ready, but I won't be in a rush to pick those, as they are very time consuming to pick. However, I will mention to the guy about them and see what he says. I have also sent an email out to a few close friends and relatives who live reasonably close by to feel free to come by and pick some. By the way the raspberries are YUMMY!!! I just hope I get to pick some for myself.

Sunday was a lovely day weather wise, and I managed to get Kamikaze Hill cut which was a good thing, especially now the rasps are ready. I can see me being super busy over the next couple of weeks, if this guy decides to buy my rasps.

We went to a family barbecue also on Sunday, and it was nice to catch up with some relatives that we haven't seen in quite a while. I have to say though I was glad to get out of the city and back to the acreage. I'm not used to the hustle and bustle anymore. It's always amazing how fast the niece's and nephew also grow, as we don't see them very often.

My brother has now started a blog called: that british woman s brother original title or what!!! We have a "friendly" competition about what we each do with our "acreage's" If you have a minute pop by and say hello to him. He drives a truck for a living, and is away overnight a few days a week, so he may not get back to you right away, but I am guessing "he'll be right chuffed," if you leave a comment for him. I will say his veggie patch is looking a lot better than mine, as mine is full of weeds. All we need now is my other brother to start a blog and then it will be a family thing!!!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Today I have a variety of flowers. The first one is a wildflower, that is flourishing everywhere on the acreage. No idea what its name is, but it is pretty. This one is in my flower garden, and grows like a weed, again no idea what it is called?

Finally my Christmas Cactus is flowering, which is funny as it didn't flower at Christmas, so maybe I have an Australian Christmas Cactus, as it's winter over there at the moment???